Sleepless Nights
by Revolutionary Venom
Summary: Aftermath of the episode "Jurassic Puck"


Hey guys! Well, like I said before, I've been re-watching the old MD:TAS cartoons. Well, last night I came across "Jurassic Puck" and an idea hit me like a bat to the head, or in the case of this cartoon, a puck to the head. So here you guys go, another story! =D

P.S. If you haven't read "Every 1 in 15", don't worry too much about it; but you might be slightly confused about some remarks in the story.

_*memories*_

Disclaimer: I don't own MD:TAS. I'd be rich if I did

* * *

Wildwing walked into the kitchen of the Pond, knowing he wasn't going to go back to sleep tonight. He took a seat at the table and sighed, head in his hands.

The leader had hardly been able to sleep for a week since the whole Dragaunus-bringing-his- "dinosaur cousins" - back-to-life situation. He kept having nightmares about what had _actually _happened versus the things that - in his mind - _could _have happened. He remembered the military base, when he shouted at Mallory, Nosedive, and the general to run from the pterodactyl…

_*Wildwing had gone off in one direction, Mallory somewhere to his left, the general who only knew where, and Nosedive…_

_Well, he wasn't sure. He had seen him run off in the opposite direction, that he was sure of-_

"_Hey, back off man! Get a grip! Oof! Not on me~!"_

_When the older Flashblade heard those words, he instantly knew who it was. He turned around and looked up at the pterodactyl, carrying his brother off._

"_NOSEDIVE!"*_

Wildwing rubbed his face, reliving that part of his memory and nightmare. It'd hardly been a month since his younger brother had had surgery for his appendix and was just getting used to hockey games and whatnot when Dragaunus had sent this attack a week ago…Wildwing had just started to not worry so much about the after effects of the surgery too…

And the goalie couldn't even _begin _to comprehend why Mallory was so adamant about shooting that overgrown flying lizard out of the sky after it had picked Nosedive off the ground…

_*Wildwing and Mallory followed after the flying dino in the Aerowing, Mallory looking like she was ready to fight._

"_I say we blow that thing outta the sky," the red-head stated, her hands on the controls._

_Though the mask didn't show it, Wildwing's face was in a mixture of surprise and hatred at what she had just suggested. "And Nosedive with it?" he asked. He then sighed. "No way, there's nothing we can do until it puts him down."*_

He just sat there for awhile, wondering why this was plaguing him so. Everything had been alright in the end; they had defeated Dragaunus once again and Nosedive was just fine.

So why was he here, a week later, having nightmares and being barely able to sleep?

This question had bothered him. The first night he had the nightmare, he had taken a walk into late-night Anaheim, thinking that the cold night air would help take away the images in his head. And it had…until the next night. From then on, he either went to the roof of the hockey rink and watched the city in the late-night hours or wandered around some other place of the Pond. Tonight, he found himself in the kitchen, in an old hockey jersey and flannel bottoms that he called pajamas, with no real idea as to why there of all places.

"Can't sleep Wing?"

The leader looked up to see Duke at the coffee maker, pouring himself a cup. "How on Earth did I not hear you come in?" asked Wildwing.

The ex-thief smiled. "Because I have that kind of stealth?" he mused. He held up his mug of Java. "Want some?"

Wildwing thought for a moment, then shook his head. "No thanks," he said. "I might try to go back to sleep tonight, and I don't want that liquid waste in my system right now."

Duke took a seat at the table across from his leader. "Alright Wildwing, what's wrong with ya?" he asked. "For the past week, you can't sleep, are edgy, and a tad bit grouchy during the day…well, maybe more like your attitude is like it is when Phil's got some weird new publicity stunt. So what is it that's bothering you?"

"How'd you know I've been having trouble sleeping?" the older Flashblade asked.

Duke shrugged. "When one is the so-called 'insomniac' of the group, they tend to notice things that happen late at night," he simply answered. "I mean, you've been getting up anywhere from twelve to two during the night and don't go back to sleep. The only reason I know you don't is because you've been really irritable this week."

Wildwing sighed. "Honestly, I guess it has to do with the last attack Dragaunus pulled."

"Wha? You've been worrying about ol' lizard lips this whole time?" Duke asked, surprised. "Why has that been buggin' you?"

The sleep-deprived leader just sighed again, putting his head in his hands.

"Wildwing?"

"You weren't there Duke," the leader answered. "You, Tanya, and Grin were somewhere else, fighting. You didn't see that flying overgrown lizard pick up Nosedive and fly off with him." He paused. "Then Mallory just kept wanting to shoot that thing out of the sky, with little to no regard of Dive-"

"Well, that gal certainly _does _have a one-track mind when it comes to Dragaunus and his plans," Duke interjected.

Wildwing just rubbed his sleep-deprived eyes. "Guess so," he said. "But all the worrying I've been doing over the past month about his health was just starting to go away when we got that Drake One alert about Dragaunus's "cousins". And when I saw him being taken off, it just…"

"Scared the feathers off ya?"

"More than that!" Wildwing exclaimed. Duke just sipped his coffee as the leader took a few moments to gather his thoughts. When he regained composure, he finally spoke again. "I kept having all these thoughts about what could happen to him as we went after them in the Aerowing. It wasn't until after I got Nosedive down onto the construction site that those thoughts went away."

Duke set his mug down on the table, looking thoughtful about what his captain had just confided in him. "So basically, you were worried about the 'what-ifs' from our last attack?"

"…something like that I guess."

The ex-bandit rubbed his good eye. "Well, think of it this way," he said. "None of it happened. You don't have to worry about it because it didn't happen, none of the 'what-ifs' in your head happened." Duke took another drink of coffee, then set his mug down. "But I think you should talk to Nosedive. He's been having the same problems you are."

"How do you know that?" Wildwing inquired.

"Because he gets like you when he's worried," Duke said. He went to the sink, pouring the rest of his now-cold coffee down the drain. "He's been having nightmares for the past week as well. Only difference between you two is that he's a better actor come daytime."

"…Dive's been in here during the night, hasn't he?"

All the former jewel thief could do was smile to the leader of the ducks. "He gets hungry after he wakes up from one of those nightmares," he said. "He's been going out for those triple spicy hot tacos he loves so much, or digging out whatever leftovers we happen to have." Duke walked over to the door, but it didn't open just yet. "Just talk to the kid. Maybe you two can figure out why neither of you can sleep."

With that, the doors 'swished' open and the older drake walked out.

Wildwing sat at the table for a few more minutes, wondering if he should take Duke's advice. Finally, he got up from the table and headed for the direction of his and Nosedive's room…

**_RVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRV_**

Wildwing entered his and Dive's room to find the teenager, in what he called his "hockey pajamas" (which really was just an old jersey and pair of pants with their own team logo on them), stretched out on the couch in their room, reading a comic book. "Wing?" Nosedive asked, comic book being lowered. "What're you doing up?"

"I could ask the same baby bro," the older one said, coming over to the couch. Nosedive made room for his brother to sit as the leader of the team sat down next to his brother.

"Can I ask you something Dive?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"…have you been having nightmares about what happened last week?"

"…how'd you know?"

Wildwing sighed, hanging his head. "I guess I'm not the only one," he muttered. He looked back at Nosedive, who seemed thoroughly confused. "What are yours about?" he asked, wondering if the younger Flashblade would open up about it.

Nosedive suddenly found a spot on the ceiling to be _very _interesting. "It's nothing," he said. "It…it's stupid really-"

"No it's not, or you wouldn't be up eating triple spicy tacos in the early hours of the morning."

The younger one nearly jumped out of his seat, looking back to Wildwing. "Duke told you that?!" he exclaimed. "Aw man, I'm gonna kill 'em-"

"Nosedive."

The teenager sighed. "Alright," he finally agreed. "It's just…when I saw that glider-thing explode, I thought you were dead. Like, as soon as I saw it, I just…freaked a bit."

Wildwing waited as Nosedive sat there, thinking. After a few minutes, he continued. "I mean, I know it wasn't long, 'cuz you rescued me right after, but for a few seconds there, I thought I didn't have a brother anymore. So I guess…most of my nightmares over the past week were if I had lost you. I mean, you're the only family I got left! And…in most of 'em, I get blamed by the others for you dying."

"What? Why would you get blamed?" Wildwing asked, moving closer to his brother and draping his arm around his shoulders.

Nosedive just laid his head against the older Flashblade's shoulder, sighing. "I dunno, I haven't figured that out yet," he answered.

They both sat in silence for awhile, taking comfort in the fact that the other was with them. Then, Nosedive finally asked, "What're yours like?"

Wildwing sighed, laying his head on top of his brother's mop of blonde hair. "I keep seeing bits of what actually happened back at the base when that overgrown chicken flew off with you, when Mallory and I went and followed, and things that I kept thinking at the time could've happened," he answered. "It scared the feathers off me - and then some - when I saw that thing fly off."

"Why?" Nosedive asked. "That thing landed eventually, and I ended up blasting it when it did…even if I did get picked back up by it."

Wildwing sighed. "But at the time, I was worried sick," he said. "I know you can play hockey again and do whatever you want, but I still worry since it's only been a month after you had surgery." Nosedive was about to protest when Wildwing cut him off. "And don't give me that 'but I'm just fine' rap, I can't help it. I _know _that you're all healthy again and physically fit to fight, but seeing the fact that I'm your big brother, I can't help _but _worry about you."

The two sat in silence again, not really wanting to move.

"…so does that mean we'll get over these nightmares?"

"I hope so little brother. I sure hope so…"

**_RVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRV_**

"Aw, they're so adorable when they're asleep."

Tanya just rolled her eyes at Mallory's slightly-sarcastic comment. "It's about time they got some sleep," the techie said.

The others had been waiting in the Ready Room for Wildwing and Nosedive for morning practice and had gotten worried when they didn't show up. So, led by Duke, they all marched down to the brothers' room and found the two of them asleep on the couch.

"It seems that all dark clouds that have been hanging over their heads have made peace," Grin said, as Mallory and Tanya went to the closet to pull out a blanket.

Duke laughed a little as the two found a blanket and draped it over the Flashblade brothers. _Guess they won't have anymore late-night excursions,_ he thought.

"What's so funny L'Orange?" Mallory asked, the four leaving their sleeping teammates behind.

Duke shook his head, a smile on his face. "Nothin' sweetheart," he merely answered as the doors closed behind the four ducks.

Nosedive just cuddled closer to Wildwing as the older one's arm tightened around his shoulder as they slept, unaware that the others had ever visited their room.


End file.
